College Sports Blog

West Virginia officially named former Mountaineers assistant and West Virginia native Tony Gibson its safeties coach Wednesday.

Gibson was the Mountaineers’ defensive backs coach and recruiting coordinator from 2001 to 2007 and most recently served as the safeties and defensive special teams coordinator at Arizona. He is the second addition to West Virginia’s coaching staff this week as his hiring comes on the heels of former East Carolina defensive coordinator being named the Mountaineers’ cornerbacks coach.

“Being a West Virginia native, I am happy to be back in my home state,” Gibson said. “West Virginia football means a lot to me and my family. I am looking forward to working with [head coach Dana] Holgorsen and being reunited on the defensive side of the ball with Coach Patterson. I also look forward to being a part of the future of this program and advancing what I helped start years ago.”

With the exception of a one-year stint as the defensive backs coach, recruiting coordinator and strength and conditioning coach at Cumberland University, Gibson spent 12 of the first 13 years of his coaching career in the state of West Virginia.

After spending seven years on the Mountaineers staff, Gibson followed former West Virginia head coach Rich Rodriguez to Michigan in 2010 to serve as the secondary and strength and conditioning coach. He was the secondary coach at pass defense coordinator at Pittsburgh in 2011 before one more year under Rodriguez at Arizona last season.

“Tony certainly has built a reputation as an outstanding recruiter and is nationally known for his ability,” Holgorsen said. “Being a native West Virginian and having already coached here at the University and successfully recruited western Pennsylvania for many years, he brings a familiarity that will be an asset to our program. He worked with Keith at Pitt two years ago, so he already is well-versed with his defensive philosophy so that should help make for a smooth transition.”